Wiggins out of Tour of Britain due to illness, regrets withdrawal

One day after his overall chances in the race evaporated after he decided to wait for the struggling gold jersey Mark Cavendish rather than push ahead with the race contenders, Bradley Wiggins has withdrawn from the Tour of Britain.

His Sky team stated earlier today that the Tour de France winner has come down with a stomach bug, and was a non-starter as a result of that. The news will be a disappointment to his fans, who have turned out in droves on previous stages to see the Briton.

“I'm sorry to have to pull out of the Tour,” Wiggins said. “I've loved the last six days, meeting so many people around the country and enjoying those crowds along the roads. It's been a great experience, but this bug sadly means I'll now miss the climax this weekend.

“I'm sorry I can't continue and would like to thank all those fans, of all ages, for the support. Those fans have really inspired us this week and this summer.” He wished his Sky team-mates luck for the rest of the event.

Wiggins had spent much of the race riding from the team, helping Cavendish to stage wins in Dumfries and Blackpool. He was seventeenth overall, just 36 seconds back heading into yesterday’s stage, but ended up losing over twelve minutes when he elected to help Cavendish rather than pushing forward when the race split up.

After the stage, directeur sportif Servias Knaven explained the decision. “Brad was in between the two groups waiting for Cav and the gap looked shorter than it was,” he said, suggesting Wiggins believed he’d get back on with Cavendish in tow. “Brad wanted to help us defend the jersey today and did everything he could to help Cav.”

Christian Knees is Team Sky’s sole remaining overall contender. The German started today 24 seconds behind Leigh Howard in fifth place overall.

Wiggins’ withdrawal is not expected to impact on his participation in next week’s world championships. He is due to ride the road race there, but previously indicated he wouldn’t do the time trial. This year’s Olympic champion took silver behind Tony Martin (Germany) at last year’s worlds, but is fatigued after a long season.